Happiness Is . . .

I know I can be annoyingly upbeat. But that's just who I am.

There are a lot of things that make me happy - they would make most people happy.

Like:

• Finding money


• Getting a call from a friend you haven't talked to in awhile


• Sunshine


• A neighbor offering to help with some kind of repair or project


• Hearing that something you did out of pure friendship made another person cry with happiness.


• Hanging out with good friends

Then, there are the oddball things that probably only make me happy.

Such as:

• Having an entire shelf in one kitchen cabinet dedicated solely for the storage of rolls of paper towels.
  
  Yes, I can buy the eight pack of Bounty and not have to stash one or two here, there and everywhere. I have one shelf and that's where all the rolls go. I love it!



• Mechanical pencils.
  
  First of all, they never need to be sharpened. It's just a bummer when the last of the lead falls out and you shake the pencil and hear nothing. I've always got spare lead with me, though.
  
  Second of all, they keep you flexible and neat. No scribble, scrabble here.
  
  Need to change an appointment? No problem, just erase and write it on another date. Honestly, I'm happier changing an appointment if I've written it in pencil because my planner stays neat. I get irritated if I have to make a messy scribble - it looks so unprofessional.



• The days in spring when the temperature is consistently above 65 degrees.
  
  This isn't because I can shed my sweaters and coats. It's not because the trees will bud and flowers will bloom.
  
  No, this is because I can haul out the sandals and ditch the socks until October. Not only do I dislike wearing socks, but it's one less person I have to find socks for in the morning. Yay!



• My bird "cat-calling" me.
  
  It was one of the first "songs" George learned. It's so nice to walk into the room and hear him "Wert Whihrl" at me.
  
  I guess I'm sexy because I talk to him and buy him food. Whatever. I'll take it.



• Shiny pennies.
  
  A shiny penny is like a touch of sunshine in your hand - even on the cloudiest days.



• Watching my children sleep.
  
  Don't get me wrong, I like them when they're awake too (for the most part).
  
  However, they are so angelic with their eyes closed and their lips slightly parted. I love the softness of their breathing and the sense of calm that surrounds them.

I know this is only somewhat random. It's not like it all just spilled out of my head in a rush this morning. But there's really only a very thin thread concerning my weird feeling of happiness so I'm calling it acceptable for Random Tuesday Thoughts.

Many others have random-er, fun thoughts so you should pop in at Keely's place by clicking this magical purple button.

Silver Lining:

1. It's the little things in life that make real and lasting happiness. It's good to remember what they are and thank God for our blessings.


2. I played Bunco last night and didn't write anything on the back of my scorecard. All the girls knew they were "safe" from becoming a blog subject. However, I really feel the need to mention them here (as part of that whole hanging out with friends and happiness thing) and give any of my new readers links to the fun Bunco posts of the past. Click here and enjoy!

PS - Here's another super funny post. It wasn't about Bunco, but it was written based on my "scorecard" notes.